My Baby Is Growing Up - Chapel Hill Baby & Child Photographer Corey Williams

I find that my kids grow up in big leaps. Maybe that's not really how it happens. But that's how it feels to me. I feel like I blink, and all of a sudden, they understand irony, make adult jokes, and ask me if I "get" things.

I desperately want to give my children the gift of growing with my blessing. I want to cheer on their changes, their successes, their failures - each and every step. But it's a fight with my darker, truer nature. The part of me that wants to hide them away and keep them little, purely so they can be mine forever.

It's whenever I turn my lens on them that I see them as they really are. The way I see the other children I photograph. The other day, after my cousin Christi left, I photographed the WG. Her brother has been doing a fair amount of modeling lately, and with the permanent teeth in (gap and all) I thought we'd update the portfolio with her agent.

And there she was. Dancing and twirling on the backdrop. Looking right into my camera, with great intensity. So spunky, saucy and full of joyful play. She's a tween, though she's just seven, feeling out what it means to be a girl. She's an individual, full of giggles and bright dancing eyes.

I love her so, so much. More, in fact, every day.

Corey Cooks! My Bananas Foster Cupcakes

So in addition to photography and planning parties, I love to cook. Thanks to my BFF, my husband, and Le Cruset, I've been working on Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. But for years I've been a subscriber to Cook's Illustrated, Gourmet and Bon Apetit. It's taken me a long time to get comfortable just "riffing" in the kitchen, but I am really loving improvising. Take the other day....

It was a weekend afternoon and I wanted to make cupcakes for my kids and the neighborhood kids that were over. I started with a cake mix (which I love to do for kids cupcakes) and started doctoring it up when I realized, I had no eggs. No problemo! I substituted two ripe bananas (a vegan baking trick) and my bananas foster cupcakes were born. I've monkeyed with the recipe since then to get it just right, but I'm pretty happy with it. They always disappear in just a few hours. Let me know what you think.

C

1 package yellow cake mix

3 heaping tablespoons instant bannana pudding mix

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 1/4 cups of milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

Makes about 20-22 cupcakes.

Preheat your oven to 350. Place cupcake liners in muffin tin.

Combine cake mix, pudding, banans, milk, oil and vanilla in mixer on low until ingredients are well mixed - about 2 minutes. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop mixture into lined muffin tin. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. While cupcakes are still warm, make frosting.

Quick Set Drunken Carmel Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk or cream

1 tsp rum (or vanilla, for the kids)

Melt butter and brown sugar over medium high heat in a large saucepan, stirring to prevent the mixture from burning. Once mixture comes to a boil, add the milk. Return the mixture to a boil. Whisk in powdered sugar and rum. Remove from heat. Immediately dip the tops of the cupcakes into the icing mixture and place on cake server. Icing will harden slightly. Serve immediately or keep up to a week at room temperature.

Cousin Christi is a Beauty Queen!

So my cousin, Christi Lee, has been selected to compete in the Miss Georgia USA pageant! I'm so, so excited! She came down today so we could take some headshots and brought her BFF, Marc, with her. We had a blast, styling hair (and using some fake hair), setting up backdrops and romping around Chapel Hill shooting. Here's the shot we ended up with.

And here's Christi and Marc Wiley cutting up after we finished! It was a blast.

Stay tuned for my photos of the pageant - November 18th and 19th!

Super Mario Brothers Nintendo Cupcakes

Super Mario Brothers Nintendo Cupcakes, originally uploaded by clevercupcakes.

I'm working on Bennett's fourth birthday party. And it seems that he's stumped me again with his theme. He wants a video game party at Frankie's. Now, how am I supposed to make that cute and non-commercial? I guess I'm not. I'm going to do what the boy wants. I found these cupcakes though. Think I may make something like this for him.

Father's Day Mini Sessions - Chapel Hill Portrait Baby Photographer

Mini Portrait Sessions just in time for Father's Day

June 14, 2010
Duke Gardens

$150
20 Minute session includes 2 8x10s or 8x8s of your choice
(You must choose your images by noon on Wed, June 16 to have them by Friday, June 18)

Only 8 sessions available!
Email or call me now to book your session.

www.coreywilliams.com
coreywilliams@nc.rr.com
201 Montclair Way, Chapel Hill 27516
919-810-6700

Crazy Carmen & Jamar - And the Best Wedding Ever

So, my cousin Carmen is, well, crazy. She may be the funniest person I know. She definitely has the best laugh. (Followed closely by my husbands wild cackle and my friend Jen's deep giggle. Both amazing!)

Her wedding was seriously, one of the most amazing events I've ever been to - and I used to plan wedding for a living.

Here's why:

1. My girl had a serious theme. She's a HUGE UGA fan. She even considered a tailgate, stadium-side wedding. And though she got married at an Atlanta hotel, she brought the tailgate right to us. The centerpieces featured little UGA helmets. The table cards were photos of the scoreboard (all games that UGA won) and were named for the opposing team. The seating cards were tickets. The aisle runner was astroturf with yard lines. The bar was under a UGA tent. It was serious.

2. She came ready to have fun. When the bride is ready to have rockin' party, everyone is ready to have a rockin' party. And Carmen has a way of making friends with everyone! Rich, poor, black, white, (and yes, some black and white) fat, skinny, gay, straight, you name it. If you like UGA football, you're good. If you like a good party, you're good. If you're family, well, you were still invited.

3. She played a HUGE mix of music. Journey. Usher. Curtis Blow. Some hip hop so new that this mom of three doesn't know it. Etta James. It was all there, and it got everyone on the dance floor.

So here are a few of my favorite pics from that awesome night. Congrats, Nikki! Love you and Jamar!

Seven Year Old - Chapel Hill Photographer Corey Williams

I can't believe it, but my WG is really seven. Seven. She's all missing teeth, sassy voice, frizzy hair, romping in the backyard big kidness now. I can't believe that my baby is gone. But for all of the things that I'll miss about her babyhood and even her little girlness, I really like the person that she's becoming. She feisty, but loving. She's fiercely loyal, but able to back down when she needs to. She's a fashionista that's not afraid to sweat and play "boy games." She's all rock and roll spunkiness. And I just love her to death. Here she is as we walked through the parking lot at the Chapel Hill mall. She was in regular clothes, her hair was a mess and she looked....well....perfect.